Farmers' level crop production can easily be enhanced to 15 to 20 percent on an average if they can avail the scope of using quality seed in their farming fields, said agriculturists at a workshop on Wednesday.
The field level agricultural officials and other staff concerned should take the responsibility of making the farmers competent for enhancing quality seeds of the high valued crops to meet up mounting demands of those in the country.
They came up with the observation while addressing a daylong workshop related to boosting the quality seed of crops at the conference hall of Additional Director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Rajshahi today.
Regional office of Seed Certification Agency (SCA) organized the workshop titled "Quality Seed Production, Preservation and Distribution: Integrated Market Monitoring".
More than 60 district and upazila level officials and other agriculture related scientists and researchers took part in the workshop updating their knowledge on the issue. SCA Director Aminul Islam and DAE Additional Director Shamsul Wadud addressed the meeting as chief and special guests respectively, while SCA Regional Director Shamim Ashraf was in the chair. DAE's Deputy Directors Dr Abdul Motaleb, Mozder Hossain, Polash Sarker, Abdul Wadud and Abu Hossain also spoke.
Aminul Islam said seed must be qualitative as its significance towards food security, nutrition and production enhancement is indispensible.
He told the meeting that there are enormous prospects of boosting pulse, oilseed and spice production in the region including its vast Barind tract and there is a need for concerted efforts to materialize the potentialities. Islam urged the attending officials to become more vigorous towards encouraging the growers in the field of infusing dynamism into the seed production activities by themselves after the best uses of existing natural resources including suitable topography and climatic condition in the region including its vast Barind tract. He asked them to form Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with beneficiary farmers of the project so that they can sustain their activities through utilizing their best practices.
Shamsul Wadud mentioned that the government has attached highest priority to the agriculture sector and added that the field level officials and researchers should take the responsibilities of reaching the government's services to the farmers' doorsteps.